Britain's Conservative Party Scrambles for a Comeback: Leadership Race Highlights

Four candidates vie to lead Britain's Conservative Party back into power after a devastating election loss. Former officials Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, and Tom Tugendhat aim to rejuvenate the party and defeat Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in the next general election. The winner will be announced on Nov. 2.

The four contenders to lead Britain's Conservative Party stepped into the limelight on Wednesday, each eager to prove they can rejuvenate the right-of-center party after a catastrophic election defeat.

Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, ex-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, and ex-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat each made fervent appeals to party members. Their mission: to pivot public opinion, outmaneuver Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party, and return the Conservatives to power in the next election, due by 2029.

Following years of internal conflict, scandal, and economic instability, UK voters decisively rejected the Tories in a July election, leaving the party with only 121 seats in the 650-member House of Commons. Meanwhile, the center-left Labour Party secured over 400 seats.

(With inputs from agencies.)